Twins Winter Caravan returning in 2022
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins Winter Caravan is set to return in 2022.
After a one-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Twins announced on Wednesday that the annual tour of the Upper Midwest that typically carries players, coaches, team alumni and executives to towns throughout Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas is tentatively slated to take place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 4, with details to come at a later date.
The Twins announced the return of the Caravan, which will celebrate many of the nonprofit partners of the Twins Community Fund, as part a longer list of fan-engagement experiences set to take place this winter, including the 16th annual "Holiday Week of Giving" from Dec. 13-17.
“While we cannot wait to welcome Twins fans back to Target Field in 2022, we are thrilled to continue delivering our region with magic moments this winter,” Twins president Dave St. Peter said in a statement. “These fun, unique experiences promise to bring the joy of Twins baseball to fans of all ages in the coming weeks.”
This year's Holiday Week of Giving will feature partnerships with Feed My Starving Children, Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans, the Minneapolis Fire Department and Kynd Kits to bring food, gifts and resources to communities around the Twin Cities area.
The organization's plans also include a "Twins Weekend" from Friday through Sunday as part of "The Northern Express," a holiday experience slated to take place in Excelsior, Minn., and Moorhead, Minn.; offseason training camps from December to March; and season ticket holder experiences in December and January.
TwinsFest has been postponed again "due to COVID-related health and safety considerations, along with the current Major League Baseball work stoppage," according to the club.
A's select Maciel in Minor League Rule 5 Draft
Though the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft has been postponed, the Minor League phase of the annual event still took place on Wednesday, with the A's claiming Twins outfield prospect Gabriel Maciel with the No. 14 selection in the first round.
The Twins entered the day with a full 38-man Triple-A roster and were thus ineligible to make any selections.
Maciel, 22, first arrived in the organization as part of the 2018 trade that sent fan favorite infielder Eduardo Escobar to the D-backs. He held fringe top prospect status while in the organization, ranking as high as No. 25 per MLB Pipeline's 2019 rankings, but fell out of the top 30 in '21.
The native of Brazil had solid speed and contact skills with the ability to play center field, but he never hit for much power and hit .238/.311/.311 with two homers, seven doubles and two triples in 73 games with High-A Cedar Rapids in '21 before the Twins left him unprotected ahead of this Minor League Rule 5 Draft.